The Nikon Creative Lighting System offers a comprehensive selection of revolutionary portable tools to match virtually any need. Whether used for simple on-camera use at a family gathering or in multiple wireless off-camera arrays, Nikon flashes operate in perfect concert with Nikon’s CLS compatible cameras.

Nikon imaging software is as important to imaging excellence as the quality of NIKKOR lenses and the capabilities of Nikon cameras. Powerful, sophisticated Nikon software—a vital link in the chain of creative control of the imaging process.

Whatever your level of experience and with whatever camera brand you shoot, there's a class for you! We will inspire you, help you master new techniques and improve your picture-taking skills by providing clear, direct information on a wide range of technical and creative topics.

Nikon Sport Optics

From casual weekend outings to rainforest excursions to the safari trip of a lifetime, Nikon Sport Optics give you the ability to clearly view every detail in crisp, brilliant color at a respectful distance. Choose from the range of legendary Nikon optics—binoculars, scopes, rangefinders, digiscoping adapters and accessories—for your viewing needs.

Archived Products

As we develop exciting new products, some older products inevitably must be retired, no matter how beloved. Never to be forgotten, we maintain the key information for these products—tech specs, user manuals and more.

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Nikon Ambassadors are some of the most talented and influential visual artists working in the business today. From workshops to trade show platforms, online learning and social media; Nikon Ambassadors represent the most versatile and ambitious photographers today.

Change your white balance during a sunrise or sunset. Take your camera off auto white balance and switch to Cloudy or Shady white balance. This will add more strength to the reds, oranges and yellows. Auto White Balance tries to keep colors neutral.

Looking for inspiration for your photography? Look no further than Learn & Explore, the area on the Nikonusa website that is packed full of educational articles, how-to tutorials and inspirational pieces on all sorts of photography topics.

Carry your camera manual, especially if your camera is new. When traveling you'll probably have a chance to try some new shots. It can also be the time you’re likely to forget the function of a particular button. Or you may just want to explore all the cool things today’s cameras offer.

Experiment with the white balance settings outside. White balance on your camera will alter the color temperature and appearance you get in your picture. For instance, a CLOUDY setting will give your pictures a warmer cast. The FLUORESCENT setting will make your photographs cooler, skewing to a purple cast.

When traveling abroad, check the power setting and type of plugs. Most modern chargers do both 110 volts (USA) and 220 volts (most of the rest of the world). Check yours, and then pick the right adapter for the plug. Be careful to not use a 110-volt power strip in higher-voltage countries.

Turn on the lights when shooting inside the house. Lamps and overhead lights will brighten any picture indoors. The light will add depth to the picture and often warm up the color. Most importantly, it will brighten up the background.

Be creative with your posing. Don't just line everybody up. Use the steps or the arm of a couch to experiment with some people standing and others sitting. Have kids sitting in laps or someone sitting on the floor or kneeling. Mix it up.

Get yourself in the picture. Nothing is worse than a vacation with no shots of the family photographer. Get in the picture by using a tripod (or a steady surface such as a wall or a car hood) and the camera’s self-timer to make sure you're included in the family memories.

Jump for fun. Have your kids line up for a picture. As the photographer, get low, and get ready to shoot. Have the kids all jump in the air at the same time. Capturing them mid jump can bring out their true personalities.

When photographing a lot of people at a party, use your camera’s Smart Portrait System to help you get better pictures. The blink mode lets you know if your subjects blinked, and the smile timer can snap the photo when the camera sees that your subjects are smiling.

Try turning off your flash at night to get what your eye really sees. If it's at all dark or dim, the camera will try to fire the flash. Find the flash off icon (usually a lightning bolt with a line through it) and select it. Make sure to hold steady, or use a tripod, because the shutter speed may be slow.

Use the pet scene mode when photographing cats and dogs. If your camera doesn’t have a pet mode, disable the audible beeps and focus assist lamps while photographing them so the lights and sounds aren’t a distraction.

Go shooting with a friend. Not only will you add another pair of eyes to find interesting subjects, but you’ll also feed off of each other’s ideas and energy. Try to organize regular shoots in the park. Share lenses or tips on making that unforgettable photo.

Use fill flash to add a little sparkle to your subject’s eyes when shooting portraits outdoors, during the day. Even in bright sunlight, fill flash can even out the lighting for a more pleasing photograph.

Compose photos using the “rule of thirds.” Think of the frame as being broken into nine rectangles (like a tic-tac-toe grid over the picture). Place your subject at one of the intersections of the lines for a more visually stimulating photo.

When shooting an image that has a subject looking off to one side, compose your photograph so there is more space where the subject is looking. This will give your photograph more of a natural feeling.

When shooting landscapes at dusk or nighttime, use a tripod and cable release or self-timer so you can slow down the shutter speed to let in more light. This is the technique used when you see pictures of car lights as lines, not pinpoints.

One of the rules of composition says that horizon lines should not be placed in the center of an image, but closer to the top or bottom of the frame. Sometimes rules are meant to be broken. When you’re photographing a subject and its reflection, its perfectly fine to place the horizon in the center of the frame.

Corporate Profile

Nikon is the world leader in digital imaging, precision optics and photo imaging technology and is globally recognized for setting new standards in product design and performance. The unique strength of the Nikon brand attributable to the company’s unwavering commitment to quality, performance, technology and innovation. Nikon Inc. markets and distributes consumer and professional digital SLR cameras, NIKKOR optics, Speedlights…

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Speedlight Tutorial: Artificial Sunlight Technique

Wireless off-camera lighting with Speedlights may seem like a daunting proposition at first glance, but its easier than you might think. With Nikon’s Creative Lighting System, you can easily set up a Speedlight or two (or more) and control their output right from your Nikon D-SLR camera. A pair of Speedlights and a minimal amount of effort can add a dramatic look to your images.

David Tejada is a location shooter. Mainly a corporate photography specialist, his subjects are found on job sites, industrial factory floors, executive offices and more. Using a minimum amount of gear, he’s able to create photographs that look as if the lighting were more complex than it actually was.

Just because the natural light isn’t cooperating doesn’t mean you can't make images with dramatic lighting. David will explain how the addition of just two Speedlights, using CTO (Color Temperature Orange) gels to warm the light output, along with a cuculoris (also known as a cookie) or gobo to add a bit of a dappled effect, looks just like warm afternoon sunlight, as it passes through tree branches, and into your image. The sharpness of the shadows from the cookie is dependent on how far away the light source is from the cookie. The closer the light source to the cookie, the softer the shadows, the further the distance, the sharper the dappled shadow pattern will appear.

David Tejada

The two SB-900 Speedlights are positioned on a stand, one atop the other, and placed outside the window. Both are set to Channel 1, Group A. CTO (Color Temperature Orange) gels are added to each flash, which warm up the ambient light's bluish hues. The light from the pair of SB-900 Speedlights are passing through the cookie, causing dappled light to reach the subject. The built-in pop-up flash on the D7000 D-SLR acts as Master, to set off the remote flashes. The white balance was custom set to 7000° Kelvin. A Nikon D7000 D-SLR with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens was used to shoot the final images. Exposure was 1/125 second at f/4, ISO 200. Inset shows the placement of the Speedlights in relation to the cookie.

Further Reading

Welcome to the NEW Nikon Learn & Explore

We've redesigned the site to make it easier to find stories you care about, get tips and advice from pros, learn new shooting techniques, discover classes and workshops—in short, help you find new inspiration every time you visit. (And we hope you visit often.)

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Take your photographic knowledge to the next level; get a working understanding of your camera's features; learn how to create DSLR videos; discover how to edit your images using Capture NX2 software and more.

PES, the creator of some of the most widely viewed stop-motion films of all time including the shortest film to ever be nominated for an Academy Award debuts his latest film Submarine Sandwich. View the film and learn how PES orchestrates his stop motion creations on the Nikon Cinema Blog.

Change your white balance during a sunrise or sunset. Take your camera off auto white balance and switch to Cloudy or Shady white balance. This will add more strength to the reds, oranges and yellows. Auto White Balance tries to keep colors neutral.

Looking for inspiration for your photography? Look no further than Learn & Explore, the area on the Nikonusa website that is packed full of educational articles, how-to tutorials and inspirational pieces on all sorts of photography topics.

Carry your camera manual, especially if your camera is new. When traveling you'll probably have a chance to try some new shots. It can also be the time you’re likely to forget the function of a particular button. Or you may just want to explore all the cool things today’s cameras offer.

Experiment with the white balance settings outside. White balance on your camera will alter the color temperature and appearance you get in your picture. For instance, a CLOUDY setting will give your pictures a warmer cast. The FLUORESCENT setting will make your photographs cooler, skewing to a purple cast.

When traveling abroad, check the power setting and type of plugs. Most modern chargers do both 110 volts (USA) and 220 volts (most of the rest of the world). Check yours, and then pick the right adapter for the plug. Be careful to not use a 110-volt power strip in higher-voltage countries.

Turn on the lights when shooting inside the house. Lamps and overhead lights will brighten any picture indoors. The light will add depth to the picture and often warm up the color. Most importantly, it will brighten up the background.

Be creative with your posing. Don't just line everybody up. Use the steps or the arm of a couch to experiment with some people standing and others sitting. Have kids sitting in laps or someone sitting on the floor or kneeling. Mix it up.

Get yourself in the picture. Nothing is worse than a vacation with no shots of the family photographer. Get in the picture by using a tripod (or a steady surface such as a wall or a car hood) and the camera’s self-timer to make sure you're included in the family memories.

Jump for fun. Have your kids line up for a picture. As the photographer, get low, and get ready to shoot. Have the kids all jump in the air at the same time. Capturing them mid jump can bring out their true personalities.

When photographing a lot of people at a party, use your camera’s Smart Portrait System to help you get better pictures. The blink mode lets you know if your subjects blinked, and the smile timer can snap the photo when the camera sees that your subjects are smiling.

Try turning off your flash at night to get what your eye really sees. If it's at all dark or dim, the camera will try to fire the flash. Find the flash off icon (usually a lightning bolt with a line through it) and select it. Make sure to hold steady, or use a tripod, because the shutter speed may be slow.

Use the pet scene mode when photographing cats and dogs. If your camera doesn’t have a pet mode, disable the audible beeps and focus assist lamps while photographing them so the lights and sounds aren’t a distraction.

Go shooting with a friend. Not only will you add another pair of eyes to find interesting subjects, but you’ll also feed off of each other’s ideas and energy. Try to organize regular shoots in the park. Share lenses or tips on making that unforgettable photo.

Use fill flash to add a little sparkle to your subject’s eyes when shooting portraits outdoors, during the day. Even in bright sunlight, fill flash can even out the lighting for a more pleasing photograph.

Compose photos using the “rule of thirds.” Think of the frame as being broken into nine rectangles (like a tic-tac-toe grid over the picture). Place your subject at one of the intersections of the lines for a more visually stimulating photo.

When shooting an image that has a subject looking off to one side, compose your photograph so there is more space where the subject is looking. This will give your photograph more of a natural feeling.

When shooting landscapes at dusk or nighttime, use a tripod and cable release or self-timer so you can slow down the shutter speed to let in more light. This is the technique used when you see pictures of car lights as lines, not pinpoints.

One of the rules of composition says that horizon lines should not be placed in the center of an image, but closer to the top or bottom of the frame. Sometimes rules are meant to be broken. When you’re photographing a subject and its reflection, its perfectly fine to place the horizon in the center of the frame.